Northern Taiwan's lows could drop below 10°C at night: CWA

Taipei, Dec. 28 (CNA) The lowest temperature recorded in a low-lying area in Taiwan early Saturday morning was in New Taipei's Shiding District, at 9.6 degrees Celsius, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, warning that parts of northern Taiwan could see the mercury drop below 10 degrees at night.

The lowest temperature was logged at 5:44 a.m. by a monitoring station in Shiding, while Taichung's Houli District in central Taiwan recorded a low of 11.1 degrees at 6:39 a.m., CWA data showed.

Due to the effect of a continental cold air mass, highs of 13-14 degrees are forecast for the north during the daytime on Saturday, and 17-21 degrees in other parts of the country, the CWA said.

It warned that the strength of the cold air mass is forecast to intensify, bringing temperatures down to 10-11 degrees in several northern cities and counties and could even affect areas as far south as Tainan City at night.

The CWA has also issued cold surge advisories for most of Taiwan, including Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan, warning that temperatures could drop to around 10 degrees or below through Sunday morning.

In Taiwan's outlying islands, 14-16 degrees are forecast in Penghu, 11-15 degrees in Kinmen and 10-11 degrees in Matsu throughout Saturday.

The strong cold air mass coupled with the effect of radiation cooling are forecast to prevail until early Sunday morning, before weakening to bring temperatures slightly back up later in the day, the CWA said.

Meanwhile, rime ice was observed in the northern peak of Yushan (Jade Mountain) on Saturday morning.

According to CWA's weather monitoring station on Taiwan's tallest mountain (3,952 meters), although there was no snowfall, a low of minus 1.6 degrees Celsius was logged at around 5 a.m. in the early morning.